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The most popular baby names of 1917

SSA recorded 2,006,749 births in 1917 across all reported names — 1,081,267 girls and 925,482 boys.

Top 100 girls' names in 1917

Rank, births, and the change in rank against 1916.
#NameBirthsvs 1916
1 Mary 64,280 —
2 Helen 34,251 —
3 Dorothy 28,852 —
4 Margaret 25,560 —
5 Ruth 23,568 —
6 Mildred 16,256 —
7 Anna 15,160 —
8 Elizabeth 15,131 —
9 Frances 14,363 —
10 Virginia 14,261 —
11 Evelyn 12,532 —
12 Marie 11,813 —
13 Alice 10,990 —
14 Florence 10,538 —
15 Lillian 9,843 +1
16 Rose 9,783 -1
17 Irene 9,163 —
18 Catherine 8,689 +2
19 Louise 8,584 -1
20 Edna 8,422 -1
21 Josephine 8,326 —
22 Martha 8,261 +2
23 Gladys 8,075 -1
24 Ethel 7,865 +1
25 Doris 7,819 +7
26 Eleanor 7,669 +1
27 Ruby 7,662 -4
28 Edith 7,532 —
29 Lucille 7,529 +1
30 Grace 7,373 -4
31 Hazel 7,285 —
32 Thelma 7,245 -3
33 Pauline 6,896 —
34 Betty 6,639 +10
35 Annie 6,404 +1
36 Marjorie 6,399 +1
37 Gertrude 6,300 -2
38 Esther 6,281 -4
39 Beatrice 5,839 -1
40 Jean 5,692 +5
41 Clara 5,626 -2
42 Bernice 5,546 —
43 Lois 5,485 —
44 Ann 5,455 -4
45 Marion 5,371 +2
46 Emma 5,121 -5
47 Julia 5,078 -1
48 Agnes 5,066 +2
49 Katherine 4,956 +2
50 Elsie 4,939 -2
51 Bertha 4,881 -2
52 Sarah 4,766 —
53 Anne 4,603 —
54 Eva 4,286 +1
55 Jane 4,258 +7
56 Ida 4,247 -2
57 Pearl 4,232 —
58 Myrtle 4,046 —
59 Viola 4,040 —
60 Kathryn 3,984 —
61 Bessie 3,927 -5
62 Stella 3,872 +1
63 Rita 3,870 +4
64 Nellie 3,808 -3
65 Laura 3,807 -1
66 Vera 3,714 —
67 Barbara 3,535 +7
68 Mabel 3,499 -3
69 Sylvia 3,469 -1
70 Jessie 3,465 -2
71 Alma 3,407 -1
72 Willie 3,381 +1
73 June 3,370 +13
74 Marian 3,267 -2
75 Minnie 3,262 -4
76 Charlotte 3,229 +4
77 Genevieve 3,192 -1
78 Marguerite 3,161 —
79 Vivian 3,119 -2
80 Leona 3,115 -5
81 Jennie 3,109 -2
82 Wilma 3,071 —
83 Ella 3,054 -2
84 Violet 3,026 -1
85 Lena 3,004 —
86 Lillie 2,931 +2
87 Juanita 2,929 +3
87 Lucy 2,929 -3
89 Geraldine 2,897 +5
90 Ellen 2,855 -3
91 Blanche 2,836 -2
92 Phyllis 2,696 +3
93 Maxine 2,647 +3
94 Mattie 2,572 -1
95 Opal 2,541 -4
96 Mae 2,507 -4
97 Theresa 2,490 +1
98 Nancy 2,411 +4
98 Velma 2,411 +1
100 Sophie 2,382 +1

Top 100 boys' names in 1917

Rank, births, and the change in rank against 1916.
#NameBirthsvs 1916
1 John 51,852 —
2 William 42,422 —
3 James 37,337 —
4 Robert 35,220 —
5 Joseph 24,761 —
6 George 24,196 +1
7 Charles 24,143 -1
8 Edward 17,501 —
9 Frank 15,768 —
10 Thomas 12,611 —
11 Walter 12,582 —
12 Harold 11,194 +1
13 Paul 11,156 -1
14 Richard 10,914 +1
15 Henry 10,696 -1
16 Raymond 9,956 —
17 Arthur 9,282 +1
18 Albert 9,157 -1
19 Harry 8,856 —
20 Donald 8,729 —
21 Ralph 7,391 —
22 Jack 6,875 +4
23 Louis 6,771 -1
24 Carl 6,699 -1
25 Clarence 6,587 -1
26 Howard 6,410 -1
27 Kenneth 6,141 —
28 David 6,099 —
29 Fred 5,986 —
30 Francis 5,801 +1
31 Willie 5,751 -1
32 Earl 5,632 —
33 Roy 5,586 —
34 Stanley 5,186 —
35 Joe 5,142 —
36 Lawrence 5,094 +2
37 Ernest 5,055 -1
38 Anthony 5,027 -1
39 Eugene 4,873 —
40 Herbert 4,745 —
41 Leonard 4,694 +1
42 Samuel 4,490 -1
43 Alfred 4,424 —
44 Michael 4,288 —
45 Elmer 3,812 —
46 Norman 3,788 +2
47 Leo 3,779 —
48 Andrew 3,752 -2
49 Bernard 3,711 —
50 Peter 3,464 —
51 Frederick 3,455 +1
52 Russell 3,436 -1
53 Lloyd 3,417 +5
54 Daniel 3,360 +1
55 Edwin 3,346 -2
56 Chester 3,338 -2
57 Melvin 3,155 —
58 Herman 2,974 -2
59 Clifford 2,969 +2
60 Leroy 2,951 +3
61 Lester 2,854 -2
62 Floyd 2,820 -2
63 Theodore 2,809 +2
64 Clyde 2,719 -2
65 Vincent 2,636 +2
66 Philip 2,544 +4
67 Charlie 2,536 +1
68 Marvin 2,517 -2
69 Gerald 2,486 +7
70 Lewis 2,477 +1
71 Vernon 2,463 +4
72 Sam 2,454 +2
73 Woodrow 2,428 -9
74 Ray 2,426 -1
75 Milton 2,394 -3
76 Benjamin 2,386 +3
77 Martin 2,336 +4
78 Victor 2,207 —
79 Jesse 2,200 -2
80 Willard 2,188 -11
81 Alvin 2,142 +1
82 Leon 2,102 +3
83 Cecil 2,101 -3
84 Gordon 2,019 +6
85 Lee 2,004 -2
86 Glenn 1,997 -2
87 Oscar 1,961 -1
88 Edgar 1,920 —
89 Stephen 1,892 -2
90 Harvey 1,808 +2
91 Arnold 1,781 -2
92 Wilbur 1,749 +2
93 Warren 1,743 +9
94 Everett 1,734 -3
95 Sidney 1,727 —
96 Wayne 1,715 +2
97 Alexander 1,664 +2
98 Claude 1,625 -5
99 Morris 1,624 -2
100 Allen 1,592 +1

Names that climbed fastest in 1917

Ranked by places gained against 1916, among names with at least 200 births in both years.

NameRank 1917Rank 1916Change
Bette girls 313 409 +96
Delores girls 310 381 +71
Harriette girls 380 443 +63
Isabell girls 368 422 +54
Carlos boys 307 352 +45
Bettie girls 291 332 +41
Gloria girls 297 338 +41
Tommy boys 341 381 +40
Mona girls 354 393 +39
Alan boys 299 338 +39
Shirley girls 123 160 +37
Joyce girls 185 221 +36
Joy girls 393 429 +36
Zella girls 363 398 +35
Alva boys 294 329 +35

Names that fell fastest in 1917

NameRank 1917Rank 1916Change
Oma girls 430 366 -64
Booker boys 364 303 -61
Ferne girls 452 400 -52
Jess boys 272 220 -52
Gretchen girls 402 357 -45
Jake boys 306 262 -44
Leone girls 434 393 -41
Fanny girls 444 404 -40
Isadore boys 358 318 -40
Wilhelmina girls 382 344 -38
Roosevelt boys 321 283 -38
Basil boys 379 341 -38
Birdie girls 414 377 -37
Eli boys 354 319 -35
Lily girls 346 312 -34

Names that first appear in 1917

1917 is the earliest year these names clear the SSA reporting threshold of five births.

Names that peaked in 1917

For these names, 1917 is the single biggest year in the whole 1880–2025 record.